Gary Oldman

From the start of his career, actor Gary Oldman displayed an edgy intensity that brought verve to his portrayals of ambiguous and obsessive personalities. Equally at home as either heroes or villains,...
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The Matrix is one of the most iconic movies released in the past 20 years. We may think we know everything there is to know about the sci-fi classic, but, like Neo, we haven't even begun to learn all there is to know. Below are 21 facts you probably never knew about the movie:
1. The Wachowskis risked the film's entire budget just to make it the way they wanted.
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The original budget that the Wachowskis pitched Warner Bros. was over $80 million. Warner gave them $10 million, so they used all of it on the opening sequence with Trinity. The opening scene impressed executives at Warner so much when they showed it, they green-lit the original budget.
2. The film differentiates the Matrix and the real world through color.
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The scenes that take place within the Matrix are tinted green; those that happen in the real world have more of a normal coloring. The fight scene between Neo and Morpheus has a yellow tint, since it takes place in neither.
3. Keanu actually climbed out the window without a stuntman.
During the phone conversation between Neo and Morpheus within the MetaCortex offices, Morpheus instructs Neo to go through the window. Keanu did this himself without the aid of a stunt double, 34 stories in the air.
4. The helicopter scene almost caused the film to be shut down.
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They flew the chopper through restricted airspace in Sydney, Australia. Laws in New South Wales had to be changed in order to let The Matrix proceed with filming.
5. Which might explain why the Morpheus' rescue took six months to prepare and plan.
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6. The Wachowskis worked on their vision for the movie for five and a half years.
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The final product, arrived after working through 14 screenplay drafts, took up 500 storyboards.
7. Morpheus, in Greek mythology, is the god of dreams.
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Which is ironic, since he's the man who wakes people from their dream states and introduces them to reality.
8. Keanu Reeves only has 80 lines in the first 45 minutes of the film.
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Of those 80 lines, 44 are questions. That's over his half his dialogue, and it amounts to about one question per minute.
9. All of the color blue was removed from the exterior shots.
The idea behind this was that it would make the outside world of the Matrix seem more grim.
10. Jean Baudrillard's Simulacra and Simulation was required reading for all principal cast and crew.
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The book, which is about hyperreality and the imitation of real-world processes, can be found in Neo's apartment as well. It, along with Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland, Karl Marx, Franz Kafka, and Homer's Odyssey, were all hugely influential on the film.
11. Will Smith was approached to play Neo.
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"Welcome to the real Will." He turned it down to star in Wild Wild West instead. Good choice? Maybe not, but Smith has since admitted that it was for the best because he didn't actually understand the script at the time.
12. Other actors considered to play Neo were Nicolas Cage, Tom Cruise, and Leonardo DiCaprio.
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Thankfully, Keanu won out. He's really the only Neo we can imagine. #canttouchthis
13. "Neo" is an anagram for "one."
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Which is fitting, really, since Neo is the One.
14. The opening sequence took six months of training to prepare for and four days to shoot.
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15. Carrie-Anne Moss (Trinity) twisted her ankle during filming, but kept it a secret.
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She was afraid that if she told someone, they would re-cast her, so she kept it hidden.
16. The glyphs on the screens consist of reversed letters, numbers, and Japanese katakana characters.
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17. Given Neo's choice, the Wachowskis have both said they would choose the blue pill.
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18. Gary Oldman and Samuel L. Jackson were both considered for the role of Morpheus.
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19. The film's legacy began to show within 3 years of its release.
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By mid-2002, the Bullet Time sequence had been parodied in over 20 films.
20. When Carrie-Anne Moss saw the first cut, it was the first time she'd ever seen herself in a movie.
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21. Richard Walker, founder of sunglass company Blinde, competed against Ray-Ban and Arnette to design the glasses for the movie.
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He personally designed custom sunglasses for each character based simply on their unique names in order to get the job. Once he got it, Walker was flown into Sydney to make custom glasses for the duration of filming.

Sean Penn, Jennifer Aniston and Eddie Redmayne kept one of comedian Jimmy Kimmel's post-Oscars traditions going on Sunday night (22Feb15), when they appeared in a star-studded skit on his 10th annual Academy Awards TV special. Oscar winners Penn and Redmayne, Matt Damon, Jeff Bridges and Susan Sarandon were joined by Aniston, Benedict Cumberbatch, Mila Kunis and Kristen Bell, among others, in a skit titled The Kimmel School of Perfect Acting.
In the comedy sketch, Kimmel portrayed a rude, pretentious acting coach who abused his star clients.
The highlight came when Kimmel's coach threw a bottle at Redmayne for failing to convince him he was British. He also made Gary Oldman, a regular on his late-night show, act his way out of a paper bag and he also revealed that Kimmel made him take care of his laundry and "walk his piglets".
Penn had to read his lines for the fake coach as Kimmel slapped him over the head with a floating swimming pool toy.
With a straight face the Academy Award winner said, "The pool noodle is the only way I can learn."
He added, "Jim convinced me to take the role in Milk even though I'm lactose-intolerant. He had me drink a gallon of milk a day. It wasn't until I read the script that I found out there was no dairy involved... but end of story, this little guy here", holding up his Oscar statuette.
Matt Damon, who is often the butt of Kimmel's jokes, also appeared in the skit - as a chair.
He griped, "I've been in the class for two years and I've paid several thousands of dollars and he just has me play chairs and lamps."
Kimmel's pals John Krasinski and Emily Blunt split during the skit when the pretentious coach insisted they were no longer married. Krasinski threw his wedding ring on the floor as Blunt burst into tears.
Meanwhile, during Kimmel's show, Whiplash star J.K. Simmons crashed the programme with his new Best Supporting Actor Oscar and Kimmel attempted to persuade the actor to part with his statuette.

The latest installment in the Planet Of The Apes franchise was among the big winners at the Visual Effects Society (VES) Awards on Wednesday night (04Feb15). Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, which stars Gary Oldman, landed three awards for its special effects, including the night's top prize, Outstanding Visual Effects in a Visual Effects-Driven Photoreal/Live Action Feature Motion Picture.
The night's other big winner was Big Hero 6, which landed five trophies, while other honourees included X-Men: Days of Future Past, which scooped two awards, and Interstellar, which took one.
During the Los Angeles ceremony, Zoe Saldana presented her Star Trek director J.J. Abrams with the VES Visionary Award, and as he accepted the prize, the moviemaker opened up about his work on upcoming blockbuster Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens.
Abrams told the audience, "(It is) an actual childhood dream come true, and has only given me more appreciation for what you (visual effects workers) do.”

Actor Gary Oldman's fourth wife has filed divorce papers to end their six-year marriage. Singer/songwriter Alexandra Edenborough, who wed The Dark Knight star in 2008, filed papers in Los Angeles to end the couple's marriage, according to People.com.
She lists irreconcilable differences as the reason for the split.
Edenborough is also asking Oldman to pay spousal support and her attorney's fees.
The 56-year-old movie star's ex-wives include English actress Lesley Manville and Uma Thurman.

British actress Miranda Richardson will be honoured for her career at the London Critics' Circle Film Awards on Sunday (18Jan15). The Harry Potter star will receive the Dilys Powell Award for Excellence in Film, named after the late British author and critic, for her services to the movie industry.
Richardson will be awarded the accolade during a prizegiving ceremony at The May Fair Hotel in London on Sunday.
She says, "Thank you to the Critics' Circle for this gift in memory of one of the great women of film history. I'm looking forward to an evening of celebration of the medium Dilys Powell loved and which, against all odds, is still dominating our hearts and minds."
Previous recipients of the honour include Dame Judi Dench, Gary Oldman and Quentin Tarantino.

Were you paying attention to the big screen and all the Hollywood happenings in 2014? We thought we'd kick off the New Year with a quick look back over the last 12 months of WENN movie news and pose a few questions to one and all that might just help you recall some magical moments at the cinema, or some hot gossip from the year just gone.
The prize for the winner? Bragging rights and a front row seat to the 2015 Oscars in your own living room! Best of luck!
1. The Fault in Our Stars was based on a book written by which author?
a. John Green
b. John White
c. James Green
d. James Brown
2. What song did not feature on the soundtrack to Guardians of the Galaxy?
a. I'm Not in Love
b. Mama Told Me Not to Come
c. Spirit in the Sky
d. Hooked on a Feeling
3. From which hit animated movie did the catchy tune Everything is Awesome come?
a. Muppets Most Wanted
b. The Lego Movie
c. How to Train Your Dragon 2
d. Mr Peabody and Sherman
4. Game of Thrones star Kit Harington starred in which epic disaster film based on true events?
a. Godzilla
b. 300: Rise of an Empire
c. Hercules
d. Pompeii
5. The son of which longtime Hollywood couple starred alongside Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill in 22 Jump Street?
a. Colin Hanks, son of Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson
b. Oliver Hudson, son of Bill Hudson and Goldie Hawn
c. Jaden Smith, son of Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith
d. Wyatt Russell, son of Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn
6. Which of the following was not a cast member in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes?
a. Andy Serkis
b. James Franco
c. Jason Clarke
d. Gary Oldman
7. Get On Up was a biopic based on the life of which legendary musician?
a. James Brown
b. Stevie Wonder
c. George Clinton
d. Smokey Robinson
8. Which Hollywood veteran portrayed the family matriarch in This Is Where I Leave You?
a. Anjelica Huston
b. Jane Fonda
c. Bette Midler
d. Dame Judi Dench
9. Which musical did The Amazing Spider-Man star Emma Stone make her Broadway debut in?
a. Chicago
b. Cabaret
c. Wicked
d. Les Miserables
10. Which one of these celebrities was NOT part of Ellen DeGeneres' famous 'selfie' taken during the 2014 Academy Awards?
a. Channing Tatum
b. Kevin Spacey
c. Matthew McConaughey
d. Jared Leto
11. Which actress celebrated her one-year wedding anniversary to her tennis pro husband on New Year's Eve?
a. Ashley Tisdale
b. Kaley Cuoco-Sweeting
c. Naya Rivera
d. Ginnifer Goodwin
12. Who will play the villain in the next James Bond movie?
a. Quentin Tarantino
b. Mark Strong
c. Christoph Waltz
d. Bryan Cranston
13. Which country do the two actors who played Solomon Northup in 12 Years a Slave and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in Selma come from?
a. England
b. France
c. Canada
d. America
14. Who rang in 2014 with Charlize Theron and has since become her boyfriend?
a. Sean Penn
b. Chris Pratt
c. Mark Wahlberg
d. Joaquin Phoenix
15. Name new mum Scarlett Johansson's daughter.
a. Kate
b. Jane
c. Apple
d. Rose
16. Which famous Jessica played Matthew McConaughey's grown-up daughter in Interstellar?
a. Jessica Alba
b. Jessica Biel
c. Jessica Chastain
d. Jessica Lange
17. Which Brit picked up the Best Actor prize at the Cannes Film Festival in May for his portrayal of grumpy artist J.W. Turner?
a. Colin Firth
b. Timothy Spall
c. Ray Winstone
d. Alan Rickman
18. What was the highest grossing movie of 2014?
a. Transformers: Age of Extinction
b. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1
c. Guardians of the Galaxy
d. The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
19. Which awards season favourite was filmed over 12 years?
a. Boyhood
b. Birdman
c. Foxcatcher
d. Selma
20. In what film did Jennifer Lawrence debut her singing voice, scoring a chart hit all around the world?
a. Silver Linings Playbook
b. American Hustle
c. X-Men: Days of Future Past
d. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1
21. What is the bestselling music soundtrack on iTunes this year?
a. Frozen
b. Annie
c. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1
d. Guardians of the Galaxy
22. He ended 2014 a newlywed with a hit movie, called The Theory of Everything. Name the British actor who married fiancee Hannah Bagshawe in England on 15 December.
a. Benedict Cumberbatch
b. Timothy Spall
c. Eddie Redmayne
d. Colin Firth
23. Why did model-turned-actress Milla Jovovich announce she was putting the next film in her Resident Evil franchise on hold in August?
a. Script problems
b. Financial issues
c. Her director husband Paul W.S. Anderson had abandoned the movie
d. She was pregnant
24. In 2014, this actor played Moses and became a new dad. Name him.
a. Joel Edgerton
b. Chris Pratt
c. Christian Bale
d. Mark Wahlberg
25. Another new dad, Chris Hemsworth, was named People magazine's Sexiest Man Alive in 2014, but who's the lucky actress, the mother of his kids, who gets to cuddle up to him every night?
a. Eva Mendes
b. Elsa Pataky
c. Scarlett Johansson
d. Jessica Alba
ANSWERS:
1. a
2. b
3. b
4. d
5. d
6. b
7. a
8. b
9. b
10. c
11. b
12. c
13. a
14. a
15. d
16. c
17. b
18. a
19. a
20. d
21. a
22. c
23. d
24. c
25. b

"I know him very well... I wanted to cast him in Alien 3... though, in hindsight, if we had (worked together), we probably would never have spoken to each other after that... He's an incredibly thoughtful guy. I see him from time to time, but I haven't seen him in a while." David Fincher on his relationship with his ex-wife Donya Fiorentino's ex-husband Gary Oldman.

Shia Labeouf is set to play an Afghanistan war veteran searching for his family in a post-apocalyptic America in director Dito Montiel's new movie Man Down. Kate Mara and Gary Oldman have also signed up for the psychological thriller.

Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett are continuing their unlikely friendship by starring in fashion retailer H&M's 2014 holiday campaign. The two singers are releasing their collaborative album of jazz standards, Cheek to Cheek, this September (14), and their new music will be featured in television commercials for the popular clothing brand starting in November (14).
Gaga and Bennett will also be featured in accompanying print, outdoor and online advertisements, according to Women's Wear Daily.
The Born This Way hitmaker is no stranger to H&M, having made a personal appearance at the opening of the company's Times Square flagship store in New York last year (13).
The duo joins the likes of Gisele Bundchen, Beyonce, Gary Oldman and Johnny Depp who have previously been featured in the brand's campaigns.

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Moviemaker Francis Ford Coppola gave his Bram Stoker's Dracula star Gary Oldman a coffin to help him prepare to play a 300-year-old vampire.
The actor was struggling to get into character during a pre-shoot retreat in Napa Valley, California and he asked the director for tips only to return home to Los Angeles and find a coffin on his doorstep.
He says, "I kept it in my garage. I think he wanted me to have sex in it. He kind of hinted at it."
"On a wild night... when I was a drinker back in the day, people just ended up at the house and when they were leaving, I wanted to impress them and I had a little switch inside the house and the garage door would open and the light would come on over the coffin and I said, 'Check this out...' They never came back!"

Summary

From the start of his career, actor Gary Oldman displayed an edgy intensity that brought verve to his portrayals of ambiguous and obsessive personalities. Equally at home as either heroes or villains, Oldman gained a well-earned reputation as a brilliant chameleon who first staked his claim playing wayward Sex Pistols bassist Sid Vicious in "Sid and Nancy" (1986). Following acclaimed turns as playwright Joe Orton in "Prick Up Your Ears" (1987) and a slick attorney in "Criminal Law" (1989), the actor was eerily indistinguishable as Lee Harvey Oswald in Oliver Stone's conspiracy-driven "JFK" (1991). Oldman added to his vast array of characters by playing the famous Count in "Bram Stoker's Dracula" (1992), a dreadlocked drug dealer in "True Romance" (1993), Ludwig von Beethoven in "Immortal Beloved" (1994) and a terrorist leader in "Air Force One" (1997). In the new millennium, he was conservative senator who vigorously challenged the appointment of the first woman to the vice presidency in "The Contender" (2000) and was virtually unrecognizable as the mangled Mason Verger in "Hannibal" (2001). While sometimes associated with small films, Oldman excelled in blockbusters, playing the mysterious Sirius Black in "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" (2004) and several sequels, and Lieutenant Gordon in Christopher Nolan's "Batman Begins" (2005) and "The Dark Knight" (2008). Though virtually unrecognized by awards until 2010's "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy," Oldman nonetheless remained an actor held in high esteem among critics, audiences and fellow actors, thanks to scores of acclaimed roles under his belt.

Married Feb. 16, 1997; mother of Oldman's sons Gulliver Flynn and Charlie John; Divorced on April 13, 2001; Fiorentino claimed in 2001 that Oldman had a drug habit and subjected her to domestic abuse, a claim which was investigated - Oldman was awarded legal custody of their children and Fiorentino was granted short court-monitored visits

Met while she was visiting the set of his film "State Of Grace" (1990); Married on Oct. 1, 1990; Divorced on April 30, 1992

Education

Name

Rose Bruford College

Greenwich Young People's Theatre

Notes

In 1991, Oldman was arrested for drunk driving along with friend and fellow actor Kiefer Sutherland. After a string of alcohol-fueled debacles, Oldman checked himself into Marworth treatment facility in Waverly, PA for alcoholism treatment in 1993.

"When I cry in a movie, they're my tears. If you're stirring up emotions inside of you all day, it affects your mood. You come home and it's not easy to have a beer, put your feet up and watch TV. It can wear you out. It's a nightmare on relationships." – Oldman quoted in Us Weekly, October 1993

"Gary Oldman is the best actor in the world. There are a lot of excellent actors, but very cerebral. They need six months to get the sense of the thing. If the guy has to be a garbage collector, he [the actor] has to be a garbage collector for half a year and all that bullsh*t. With Gary, if you say you've got to play a garbage collector he'll ask what time we start shooting tomorrow and can he play it. Right away. No other actor in the world can do that." – director, Luc Besson to Empire Magazine, July 1997

"There's this perception of me, this thing the tabloids have got a hold of. This wild man. There is not one paparazzi picture of me coming out of a nightclub, not one picture of me punching someone while drunk. I got nicked once for drunken driving, but I've never done drugs and yet the reputation" – Oldman to Empire Magazine, November 1997

"... basically, directing is like bending backwards, trying to stick your head in your own behind." – Oldman to Time Out New York, Feb. 5-12, 1998

"I've been bored with acting for years. I did 10 years of theater [most notably at London's Royal Court]. I loved rehearsing, first night, maybe the first week. Then I wanted to move on. What's the big deal in being anointed the Hamlet of your generation, of waiting for [theater critics] to come along and say, 'OK, he can hang in the hall of fame?'

"All I've done with films is take myself out of the game. I'm not chasing an Oscar anymore. I've turned down movies in which people have become stars or won Oscars. Because at the time I'd just finished another movie. Or I didn't want 20 weeks filming in Poland in the winter." – Oldman quoted in the Los Angeles Times, Feb. 3, 1998

"I was quiet, a loner. I was one of those children where, if you put me in a room and gave me some crayons and a pencils, you wouldn't hear from me for nine straight hours. And I was always drawing racing cars and rockets and spaceships and planes, things that were very fast that would take me away." – Oldman to Newsday, March 29, 1998

"Geting sober was one of the three pivotal events in my life, along with becoming an actor and having a child. Of the three, finding my sobriety was the hardest thing." – Oldman to Cindy Pearlman of the Chicago Sun-Times, April 5, 1998

In 2001, his ex-wife Donya Fiorentino claimed that Oldman had a drug habit and subjected her to domestic abuse, a claim which was investigated by the family courts, child custody evaluator, the police, and Los Angeles city attorney. Oldman was awarded legal custody of their children while Fiorentino was granted short court-monitored visits.

"In the past, I've had my share of good reviews, but it's always the crazy, scary, weirdo guy. I don't even know how it happened. Look at me. I mean, when I'm naked, I look like a bald chicken. How did I get to be a scary bad guy?" – Oldman to CNN.com, July 21, 2008